This rule has been repealed.

This rule has been repealed.

(1) To apply for a shooting range development grant, an applicant must prepare and submit a completed application to the department's Conservation Education Bureau in Helena. For questions and assistance contact:

Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks

Conservation Education Bureau

1420 East Sixth Avenue

P.O. Box 200701

Helena, MT 59620

Phone (406) 444-3188

(2) Applications must be postmarked on or before February 1.

(3) If the applicant is a private club or organization, the applicant must submit a club or organization resolution that approves the application for financial assistance, the project proposal, the commitment to allow public and hunter education program use of the facilities, and certifies the applicant's ability to provide matching funds or in-kind contributions.

(4) Applicants receiving preliminary approval must enter into a shooting range development project agreement with the department before the department gives final approval and disburses grant funds. The agreement shall delineate the terms the applicant must abide by under applicable statutes, administrative rules, and state and department policy. Department final approval of an agreement is contingent upon the EA decision notice.

(1) All billing on a proposed project must be completed by June 15 of the fiscal year the money is awarded.

(2) Reimbursement requests will be based upon actual costs or in-kind contributions, verified by receipts and documentation that the work was completed.

(3) With prior approval, the department will consider situations where work cannot be completed until funds are received. Which situations constitute a special circumstance or hardship, requiring dispersal of grant funds in advance, is at the department's discretion.

(4) Per 87-1-278, MCA, existing assets and shooting range developments may not be applied to the matching funds or in-kind contributions. Existing assets and shooting range developments are fixed improvements to the shooting range owned or made prior to the application deadline.

(1) The department may conduct periodic on-site inspections.

(2) Project sites will be subject to inspection by the department for ten years following receipt of a shooting range development grant.

(3) Upon completion of the work, the applicant must submit proof of the completed project.

(1) Each shooting range grant application must contain a comprehensive description of the proposed project. The information presented in the description will be used by the department to review, evaluate, and prioritize applications. The description must provide:

(a) statement of need and benefit for the proposed project, including:

(i) plans to enhance safety;

(ii) hunter education;

(iii) access by persons with disabilities;

(iv) use by a variety of shooters (archery, shotgun, rifle, pistol); and

(v) availability to the public;

(b) work to be completed, including:

(i) a calendar with completion dates, budget (including cost estimates and in-kind contributions); and

(c) site plan (within the property boundary) for the proposed project, including:

(i) location of proposed work/facilities;

(ii) existing development/facilities;

(iii) north orientation arrow;

(iv) access route(s) to the project;

(v) safety zones and impact areas; and

(vi) current photographs of the proposed project area.

(2) The applicant must submit satisfactory documentation of a long-term lease, easement, or ownership of the land where the project is proposed. Long-term leases are those with terms of ten years or more with option for renewal. Lease with terms of less than ten years may qualify only under special circumstances.

(1) As long as funds are sufficient to allocate grants to all eligible applicants, grants will be awarded beginning on July 1 of each year.

(2) When the department receives more eligible applications for grants than funds are available, the department may include, but is not limited to, the following criteria to disperse funds and approve grants:

(a) needs of the community determined by distance to applicant shooting range and annual club membership/range use;

(b) population of the county compared with numbers of shooting ranges allowing public use within the county;

(c) disabled accessibility to existing shooting range improved as a result of the proposed project;

(d) types of firearms and archery equipment that can be used at the proposed project;

(e) range safety improved as a result of the proposed project; and

(f) impacts to the human environment.